Chapter 986: Death Talisman

Xiao Jiu and Liu Junyan had once come to this utopia-like place of existence.

At that time, the fields of Yao Tian stretched endless, a riot of colors, with countless precious medicinal herbs; in the Lingdie Valley at the heart of the fields, countless butterflies fluttered and danced.

Xiao Jiu personally witnessed there the entire process of Tang Xun's soul being made whole by countless spirit butterflies.

That was the first reunion and recognition between Tang Xun and the Seven Halls Yama.

But now, the original utopia is shrouded in a pall of grim ghostly qi; half of the spiritual herbs in the Yao Tian fields have turned black, while the other half are either withered or drooping, half-dead.

The temperature was low, the ground beneath frozen and chilly, cold seeping up from the calves, everywhere exuding an eerie feeling.

Xiao Jiu immediately formed a hand seal, pointed his sword finger at his brow, chanted silently, mobilizing the power of the Five-Colored Earth; his sword finger swept forward over the Yao Tian fields, and a large swath of five-colored light sank into the fields ahead.

The mana of the Five-Colored Earth dispelled the oppressive ghostly qi ahead; as the Five-Colored Earth is the soil of the state, wherever it sinks into a Yao Tian field, the herbs originally growing there regain their vitality.

Xiao Jiu thus proceeded forward, using the mana of the Five-Colored Earth to restore this utopia, clearing a path ahead for himself and Liu Junyan.

At first everything went smoothly, until they neared the central area of Lingdie Valley, when a vast swarm of black butterflies of all sizes surged up from below, like a locust plague; wherever they passed, the herbs that had just regained vitality wilted again.

Lingdie Valley lies low; Xiao Jiu did not know why so many black butterflies suddenly flew out from below.

But she quickly realized those black butterflies were not real butterflies; the black aura they emitted was actually ghostly qi!

Once the ghostly qi is exhausted, those black butterflies will completely vanish.

Yet more black butterflies would keep emerging from Lingdie Valley, endless in number.

As wave after wave of black butterflies perished, the area of the Yao Tian fields they occupied grew ever larger.

Without understanding the situation, Xiao Jiu and Liu Junyan no longer dared act rashly, retreating step by step.

How could the spirit butterflies of Lingdie Valley turn into black butterflies?

And those black butterflies are clearly formed from condensed ghostly qi.

Nirvana fire can ignite ghostly qi and destroy it.

First, Lingdie Valley had once helped Tang Xun; if the valley were merely occupied by the master of the black butterflies while the original spirit butterflies remained, releasing Nirvana fire would likely harm the innocent.

Second, the ghostly qi of the black butterflies is entwined with the Yao Tian fields; in the process of dispelling the ghostly qi, Nirvana fire would also damage the herbs and the land.

Neither of these outcomes is what Xiao Jiu wishes to see.

When another wave of black butterflies flew out from Lingdie Valley, several streaks of golden light, accompanied by powerful inner strength, surged forward and instantly shattered those black butterflies.

Xiao Jiu glanced back at Liu Junyan behind him; it turned out he had dispersed the black butterflies with his own dragon qi.

Liu Junyan had already withdrawn his strength, waiting to exert force again when the next wave of black butterflies appeared.

The next moment, Xiao Jiu saw Liu Junyan's brow suddenly furrow; his palm, not yet fully withdrawn, condensed a stronger dragon qi, a howling gale brushing past Xiao Jiu's cheek as it surged toward Lingdie Valley.

Xiao Jiu instinctively turned his head back, seeing that the black butterflies shattered by the dragon qi, after their ghostly qi dispersed, had actually all re-condensed together.

However, that ghostly qi did not re-form into a single black butterfly; instead, it all merged, ultimately forming a huge black butterfly.

And that black butterfly suddenly bore a ferocious ghostly face!

Ghost King Butterfly!

Upon seeing that ghostly face, Xiao Jiu felt ancient memories surge to the forefront of his mind!

Dragon qi struck the Ghost King Butterfly, shattering it, and ghostly qi erupted.

But soon, those ghostly qi re-condensed into the Ghost King Butterfly!

Xiao Jiu seized Liu Junyan's hand and pulled him out of this former utopia, returning to Cangwu Mountain.

After both stood firm, Liu Junyan asked, bewildered: "Xiao Jiu, why did you pull me out? With my strength, facing that ghost-faced butterfly is no problem."

"That's not a ghost-faced butterfly, it's a Ghost King Butterfly!" Xiao Jiu said. "Āyàn, don't you remember? Earlier, my aunt had a black butterfly mark on her waist, which later turned out to be a Ghost King Butterfly."

The Ghost King Butterfly and the ghost-faced butterfly are entirely different concepts; according to wild histories, the Ghost King Butterfly is formed from the resentful qi of a Ghost King, a kind of curse!

During that period, Tang Xun was tormented by the Ghost King Butterfly mark on him, nearly losing his life.

Eventually they discovered that the Ghost King Butterfly mark on Tang Xun's waist was intricately linked to the Seven Halls Yama.

That Ghost King Butterfly was eventually stripped from Tang Xun's body, and Xiao Jiu's Soul-guiding Lamp played a significant role in the process.

Xiao Jiu personally watched that Ghost King Butterfly turn transparent and vanish.

In the blink of an eye, over a decade has passed; Tang Xun is no longer the person he once was, and today, had it not been for seeing that ghostly face, Xiao Jiu would not have recalled the Ghost King Butterfly incident at all.

After Xiao Jiu's reminder, Liu Junyan also recalled: "Indeed, there was such a thing; back then, to deal with that Ghost King Butterfly, you expended much mental effort; if I remember correctly, wasn't that Ghost King Butterfly gone?"

Xiao Jiu nodded: "That Ghost King Butterfly truly no longer exists, but the key now is not whether that Ghost King Butterfly disappeared, but why Ghost King Butterflies are appearing again in Lingdie Valley; moreover, this Ghost King Butterfly's form is clearly different from the earlier one, and this one is even more sinister."

After a pause, Xiao Jiu added: "Even, we cannot be certain that the Ghost King Butterfly we see today is merely the only one."

After all, that Ghost King Butterfly just now was formed from countless black butterflies that had been shattered and then re-condensed; so, how much ghostly qi remains hidden in Lingdie Valley, and how many Ghost King Butterflies could it coalesce into?

And who is their master?

"Originally, there must have been a deal between the Seven Halls Yama and the master of the Ghost King Butterfly." Xiao Jiu analyzed. "So, is the Seven Halls Yama's recent misfortune also related to this?"

Earlier, on the Lingdie Valley side, Xiao Jiu prevented Liu Junyan from continuing to engage in battle precisely because he had thought of this.

She seemed to be drawing ever closer to the truth.

Liu Junyan carefully pondered Xiao Jiu's words, finding that this truly was not a bad breakthrough point.

Liu Junyan speculated: "In that case, the person who made the deal with the Seven Halls Yama back then is almost certainly still in Lingdie Valley; the former Lingdie Valley has now truly become a Valley of Ghost Butterflies."

Xiao Jiu also felt a sigh of emotion.

Times change; this transaction once made to save lives has now become a death talisman for the Seven Halls Yama and Tang Xun…